Aquarium visit

I recently visited my favourite aquarium for the third time.. I was never much interested in fishes in my life but there was a transformation in me suddenly.. I watched “Finding Nemo” movie and from that day onwards, I have developed a great interest in the sea life.. Sea life is very beautiful and interesting with so many different kinds of creature.. I could see kids getting excited after seeing “Nemo”, my favourite fish 😀

I knew about lot of different fish but I did not know about these fish which are so interesting and different from the rest of the stereotypes:

1. By-the-wind sailor

This animal’s built for smooth sailing. Most of the year, the by-the-wind sailor travels far out at sea; its tiny sail catches the breeze, while its gas-filled float bobs along the surface. But in spring and summer, when strong winds blow towards short, the animal capsizes and washes up on the beach.

2. Anchovies

Archovies yawn at mealtime. I could see lot of them opening their mouths wide and then shutting them. Those wide-open mouths help these fish eat their fill because small, tasty creatures get stuck in their gills. These fish find safety in a schools and always stick together.

3. Rockfishes

They spend most of their time clustered around the reef, feeding on smaller fishes, octopuses and shrimp. Most rockfishes grow slowly and live a long time. In fact, several species live more than 100 years, making them some of the longest-living fishes on Earth.

4. Sea Dragon (Leafy/Weedy)

Sea dragons look a lot like their seahorse cousins, but they wear leafy fins to help them hide. The leafy sea dragons have delicate, leaflike fins and they look like seaweed as they drift through the water.

5. Parrotfish(sorry, I am not sure about its name though)

These are really interesting. These fish can change gender it seems. At the time of birth, all of them are female but they can change into a male after 7 years depending on the need. The female has orange spots and the male had orange stripes on its body. The one in the pic is a male (after the transformation from female).

6. Kelp Forest

A kelp forest provides an atmosphere more like an underground forest inside the ocean and its nothing but plants. Nothing can grow faster than Kelp. It grows at the order of hundreds of inches in a single day. It needs these things to survive: sunlight, movement and fresh water (in case you want to grow them)

7. Barnacle

Barnacles spend their entire adult lives attached to hard surfaces, living inside shell “houses” on pilings, rocks, ships or whales. Barnacles live upside-down, sweeping their feathery legs through the water to capture food. At dinnertime, a barnacle’s leathery legs reach out from its shell to gather in food.

If this interests you, then I would suggest you to visit an aquarium and see these fellas in action 🙂 You can check out more pics in the “Photos” page of the blog.

Nothing like seeing the weird ways in which these creatures move, open their mouths or wave their fins.. Do you have any favourite fish?